Crying Wolfowitz: The ugly American bank

The new Paul Krugman essay, from the New York Times via the Houston Chronicle:

You can say this about Paul Wolfowitz's qualifications to lead the World Bank: He has been closely associated with America's largest foreign aid and economic development project since the Marshall Plan.

I'm talking, of course, about reconstruction in Iraq. Unfortunately, what happened there is likely to make countries distrust any economic advice Wolfowitz might give.

Let's not focus on mismanagement. Instead, let's talk about ideology.

Before the Iraq war, Pentagon hawks shut the State Department out of planning. This excluded anyone with development experience. As a result, the administration went into Iraq determined to demonstrate the virtues of radical free-market economics, with nobody warning about the likely problems.

Click here for the rest.

For those of you who don't know, Paul Wolfowitz is the Defense Department official in Farenheit 9/11 who stuck a comb in his mouth before running it through his hair. Trust me, he's as lame as that image suggests, and putting him in charge of the World Bank is like...well, stupid, but when has that ever stopped the Bush administration?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$